On the Internet, social networks allow users to connect with each other and share information. Many social networks include a content sharing aspect that allows users to upload, view, and share content, such as video content, image content, audio content, and so on (which may be collectively referred to as “media items”, “media content”, or “content items”). Such media items may include audio clips, movie clips, TV clips, and music videos, as well as amateur content such as video blogging, short original videos, pictures, photos, other multimedia content, etc. Media items may also refer to other types of content, including representations of products (e.g., product listings from online merchants), articles (e.g., reviews, news articles, product descriptions, etc.), or any other type of contextual data that may be presented using a display and/or audio device. Users may use computing devices (such as smart phones, cellular phones, laptop computers, desktop computers, netbooks, tablet computers) to use, play, and/or consume media items (e.g., watch digital videos, listen to digital music, read articles, etc.).
Social networking services enable a primary user to be associated with other users, and such associations are described in a social graph, which are typically maintained by a social media service, but can also be maintained locally on a personal device of the primary user (e.g., a contact list). Some of these associated users may also be interested in similar content, and these associated users may assert an influence over each other's content selections. Such associations have been utilized in the form of social annotations, which are annotations that can accompany media items, features, or products with pictures of user faces (or some other identifier) from a social graph the viewing user belongs to. For example, an item may display an indication to a user that a friend of the user has endorsed that item by displaying a thumbnail depiction of the friend next to the item. Social annotations have been particularly useful when applied to video recommendations, subscription services, friend or follower recommendations, and advertisements.